


The Preferred Effect

by froxyn



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-09
Updated: 2011-01-09
Packaged: 2017-10-14 14:34:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/150279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froxyn/pseuds/froxyn





	The Preferred Effect

Title: The Preferred Effect  
Author: Froxyn  
Rating: FRAO  
Pairing: Buffy/Giles  
Timeline: Post-series, though mainly a flashback to S6. Basically AU.  
Synopsis: Buffy learns one of Giles’ relaxation techniques.  
Notes: Buffy didn’t die in her battle with Glory. And Dawn (as usual for my stories) was never created by strange monks to mess with my mind. Giles never left and he still had his apartment…until Sunnydale ceased to exist.  
And, as usual…a special thank you to [wyvernwolf](http://wyvernwolf.livejournal.com)!

 

Buffy wandered down the hall, a bucket of ice in one hand and the fingers of her other gently scratching at the healing gash in her side. She reached the door to his room, pausing with her hand raised as if to knock. She sniffed the air, a smile working its way to her lips.

Her mind instantly took her back to the previous year. Her smile grew as she worked her way through the memories leading to now.

* * *

Giles walked into his apartment to find Buffy rummaging through his desk, grumbling under her breath as she did so. He smiled softly and closed the door behind him.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking for a pen so I can leave you a note. But, for some reason you seem to be pen-less.” She looked up with a huff. “Why are you pen-less?”

He chuckled, picking up a pen from the small table next to the door and tossing it to her. “I’m not… ‘pen-less’. You just weren’t looking in the right area.”

She rolled her eyes, catching the object easily. “Because it makes perfect sense to have a pen there and not in or on your desk.”

He shrugged a shoulder, amusement clearly showing in his eyes as he slipped off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack. “Well, now that I’m here…do you plan on writing a note or simply telling me what you were going to write?”

“Funny.” She mumbled, glancing into the drawer one last time before starting to close it. She narrowed her eyes and pulled out the item that had caught her attention. “What the hell is this?”

He glanced at the object in her hand and smiled. “A relaxation aid. Would you care for a cup of tea?”

Her brow furrowed, surprised that he answered the question at all…much less with the ease in which he had answered. “A relaxation aid? I thought tea was your relaxation aid, not…not this.”

He sighed as he moved next to her, gently plucking the hand-rolled cigarette from her fingers. “There are more than a few things in life that I find relaxing, Buffy.”

“That’s not exactly a cigarette is it? I mean, normal every day tobacco…”

He stared into her eyes and shook his head. “Not exactly, no. Have I disappointed you?”

“I don’t think so. I mean, I’m a little shocked, but…I don’t think I’m disappointed.” She tilted her head, watching him roll the joint between his fingers. “Do you use it often?”

“Not as often as I used to. It, uh…doesn’t have the preferred effect these days.” He looked down at his hand and raised an eyebrow. “In fact, this has been around for quite a while now. Dry and brittle…”

He sighed softly and dropped it into the wastebasket.

“Preferred effect?”

“Hm?” He raised his eyes to hers and shoved his hand into his pocket. “Oh, yes. Relaxation…that’s the preferred effect. Lately I’ve discovered that the reaction it causes in me is far from relaxing.”

He moved past her and into the kitchen. “Tea?”

She nodded absently. Tea sounded good. Tea would help her clear her mind of the thought of her Watcher…her calm, somewhat stuffy, moral, protective mentor…smoking marijuana. At least…it should.

* * *

Three months later, she got a first hand look at what he had meant by the ‘preferred effect’. Willow had nearly ended the world. Her pain had been so great that she turned to the dark magicks with a vengeful mind. It had only been the spark of humanity that Giles had been able to invoke, and Xander professing his love for Willow, that stopped the world from ending that day.

Ice cream was the normal comfort food after a breakdown of a relationship. Giles knew this after the years he had spent with the Scoobies. It wasn’t normally used after the aversion of an apocalypse, but that didn’t stop him from dishing out a large bowl, covering it with chocolate sauce, and handing it to Buffy. And it didn’t stop her from accepting.

She smiled up at him, noticing that his pupils were slightly dilated. “So…this is when you use your ‘relaxation aid’? When we’ve stopped an apocalypse?”

He chuckled and sat down in the chair facing her as she curled her legs under herself on the leather couch. “Something like that.”

She raised an eyebrow and licked the chocolate sauce from her spoon. “And it seems to make you ‘cryptic guy’.”

He grinned and leaned back in the chair, resting his feet on the coffee table in front of him. He took a deep breath, feeling his head swim somewhat as the effects of the joint he had smoked earlier took hold, and watched her eat the ice cream. She looked at him, tilting her head thoughtfully as she watched his drugged eyes staring back at her.

“What’s going on in that big brain of yours, Giles?”

“Not much.” He replied softly. “Except self-beration.”

She laughed and shoved another spoonful into her mouth. “Beration. Is that even a word?”

“No.” He crossed his ankles and continued to stare at her.

“So, you’re berating yourself…why?”

He answered quickly, and what she could see of his irises darkened. “Because I’m finding that I’m envious of an inanimate object.”

Her brow furrowed. “Huh?”

His eyes darted to the spoon in her hand, then to her lips, before returning to her eyes. She swallowed as realization set in.

“Oh.” She whispered softly.

“Mm. Yes, this is not the preferred effect.” He stood, a little unsteady at first, and walked into the kitchen.

She placed her unfinished bowl on the coffee table and followed him, jumping up on the counter top as he put the kettle on to boil.

“So…pot makes you, uh…”

He chuckled and turned to face her, leaning back against the sink. “Somewhat. Sometimes. More often than not, these days.”

She blushed lightly as his eyes fell to her breasts for a brief second. “When did it go from being relaxing to…not?”

“When I allowed myself to see the beautiful woman you’re becoming.” He answered without thinking. He shook his head when he realized the words had left his mouth and turned his back to her quickly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It apparently loosens my tongue as well.”

She was quiet for a while, as was he. The only sounds in the apartment were the familiar sounds of tea preparation. He heaved a heavy sigh when she whispered his name.

“Yes?”

“Do you want me?” She asked tentatively.

He lowered his head, his back still to her. “More than you could possibly know.”

He heard her soft gasp and shook his head. “I’d never push – ”

She interrupted him with a whispered question. “Only when you’re stoned?”

He turned slowly, his brow furrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry?”

She cleared her throat and ran her fingers through her hair in a nervous gesture. “Do, uh…do you only want me when you’re stoned?”

He stared at her for a minute, his head shaking slowly before his soft voice uttered one word.

“No.”

She swallowed and exhaled shakily. “How long?”

“I don’t know.” His eyes wandered over her body and he quickly left the small kitchen. “Maybe…maybe you should, uh…I hate to ask you to leave, but…”

She slid off the counter and grabbed his arm, spinning him around to face her. “We need to talk about this.”

His hand gripped her hip, steadying himself as he stood before her. “Not right now.”

“Giles…”

He stopped her protest with a shake of his head. “If we talk about this now…” His eyes darted to her lips and she was certain that she heard a soft groan. “I’m not sure I’d be able to stop myself.”

“But…”

His fingers slipped under the hem of her shirt, lightly grazing her skin. “Go. Now. We’ll talk later. Once I’m…once I’m sober.”

She moved closer to him, sliding her hands to his chest as she whispered. “What if I want you too?”

He groaned and pulled her tightly against him, allowing her to feel his erection. “If that is true, it will remain the same tomorrow, yes?”

“Yeah…” She breathed, her skin flushing with arousal.

He gave her a quick nod and pulled away from her. “Then, please…wait until I’m sober.”

“You’ll still want me tomorrow?”

He smiled at her timidly asked question. “As much as I want you now. But, we should discuss this…and not just fall into bed together.”

She sighed, but knew that he was right. “So, pot doesn’t affect the logical part of your brain, huh?”

“It does.” He admitted softly. “And if it were anyone but you, I’d have probably taken you on the kitchen counter.” He reached out and tenderly ran his fingers down the side of her face. “But…it _is_ you. And you are too…important.”

She shivered and nodded, not really trusting her voice at the moment. He took her hand and led her to the door. He met her eyes as he opened it and stepped back.

“Come see me tomorrow.”

She nodded again and stepped outside, turning to look at him once more before walking away. He leaned against the doorframe and watched her until she was out of sight.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next day found her standing at his door at ten in the morning. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and opened the door. He looked up from the book in his hands and smiled shyly.

“Good morning.”

“Hey.” She closed the door behind her and dropped her purse onto the desk. “What are you reading?”

“Attempting to read.” He corrected and placed the book on the coffee table. “To be very honest, I was having difficulty concentrating on it.”

She sat down on the couch beside of him, narrowing her eyes as she read the title. “ _Demonology of the Triverian Dimension_? Yeah, I can’t understand why you’d have concentration issues there…”

He chuckled softly and met her eyes. “How are you?”

“Nervous.” She admitted quietly. “How’s Willow?”

“I just received a call from the Coven. She arrived safely and they’ll begin cleansing her soon. I, uh…I may have to assist them at some point.”

“Oh.” She twisted her hands in her lap.

“Is it Willow’s condition that is making you nervous?”

“A little.” She exhaled slowly, averting her eyes from his. “Mainly I’m nervous because of this…us…”

He nodded slowly. “I understand. What happened last night, I…well, to be very honest, I wasn’t expecting you to come by. Had I known, I would’ve left certain things alone until later.”

She looked back up and bit her lip. “What’s it like?” When she saw the cloud of confusion in his eyes, she clarified her question. “Getting high…what’s it like?”

“Oh. Uh…you’ve never?”

She huffed a gentle laugh. “No. Figured that if I reacted that badly to beer, it would only be worse with any drugs.”

He grinned and nodded in agreement. “Fair enough assumption. If you’d like, one day…we could…I mean, together. I could take care of you, watch over you while you’re, uh…”

He trailed off uncomfortably. She smiled, relaxing a little.

“I might take you up on that one day.”

He returned her smile and gestured towards the kitchen. “Would you like some tea?”

She nodded quickly, thankful for the chance to get her thoughts in some semblance of order. “Yeah, that’d be good.”

She watched him as he made his way to the kitchen, filling the kettle and putting it on the stove to boil. She took another deep breath and walked in behind him, jumping onto the counter as she had the previous night.

“Giles?”

“Hm?” He busied himself with retrieving the milk from the refrigerator.

“Why were you jealous of a spoon?”

He lost his grip on the carton, cursing as it fell and spilled its contents onto the floor. She jumped down quickly and grabbed a towel, kneeling before him.

“I got it.” She stated as she started mopping up the mess. “You gonna answer my question?”

She looked up at him when he hesitated. She felt her heart begin to race when she noticed that his eyes had darkened.

“Giles?”

“Yes?” He whispered thickly.

“Spoon…jealousy…why?”

The muscles in his jaw twitched. “Buffy…”

She smiled nervously, tossing the wet towel into the sink. “Please tell me.”

He swallowed hard. “I rather think you already know.”

She moved on her knees until she was directly in front of him. Her hand tentatively touched his thigh. “Maybe. But…I’d really like to hear you say it.”

He trembled slightly under her touch. “Watching…watching your tongue…lick that spoon clean…savouring the taste…”

He inhaled sharply as her hand moved steadily up his thigh. She smiled at his reaction and lifted her other hand to rest on his belt buckle.

“Yeah? What did it make you think about?”

“Christ, Buffy…” He whispered as her fingers lightly traced the growing bulge in his trousers.

She slipped the belt free, staring into his eyes. “Tell me…”

“I wanted…” He groaned softly as she slowly unbuttoned his trousers and pulled his zipper down.

“What did you want?” She smiled, her confidence growing with each second.

“I wanted your tongue savouring me…not the bloody spoon…”

Her eyes darkened with desire as she pulled his erection out. He mumbled a curse, closing his eyes as her fingers curled around the hard shaft. When he felt her tongue glide along the underside of his cock, his eyes snapped open.

“Fuck me…” He whispered under his breath.

“Mm…I plan on it.” She grinned, rubbing her thumb along the same path her tongue had just taken. “But first I want to help you with your jealousy issues…”

His hand gripped the edge of the counter he was leaning against as she ran her tongue up his length. “Dear Lord…”

She smiled inwardly, swirling her tongue around the glans before pulling it into her mouth. He groaned loudly, moving his left hand to her head and threading his fingers through her hair. She mumbled an appreciative sound as she sucked gently.

His fingers tightened in her hair and he focused his concentration on not thrusting his hips against her. She slowly moved down, taking more of him into her mouth. He hissed as her teeth lightly scraped against his flesh.

“Jesus…”

She slowly bobbed her head, moving her mouth up and down his erection. His fingers twitched against her scalp, moving with her movements but not forcing her in any way. He watched her, watched his flesh disappear into her warm mouth. He gasped when her eyes opened and stared into his.

“God, Buffy…”

“Hm?”

He groaned again, the vibration of her hum against his hardened flesh causing his hips to jerk slightly. She placed her hands on his hips to hold him still, the smile showing in her eyes when he mumbled an apology.

She kept her slow pace, delighting in the moans and groans spilling from his lips. When she heard his breath hitch, she pulled back until only the head remained in her mouth. She sucked with an increasing pressure and he gasped.

He moved his hand until his palm was cradling her cheek, his thumb stroking her skin. “Harder…”

She complied with his urgently whispered request, clamping her lips behind the glans and sucking hard. Her hand steadily stroked his thickening shaft, squeezing lightly when he groaned.

“Close…God, Buffy…I’m close…”

“Mm-hm…”

“Should…Christ…should…stop…”

“Mm-mm…” She murmured, her eyes telling him exactly what she wanted.

His body trembled, her name left his lips on a cry of ecstasy as he came suddenly. She swallowed greedily, her groan rumbling in her chest as her own orgasm hit.

“Stop…please…” He whimpered softly as her tongue cleaned his flesh of all traces of his release.

She pulled back and smiled up at him. “I’m sorry…was that too much?”

He shook his head slowly, his trembling fingers grazing down her cheek. “Come here…”

As she stood in front of him, the kettle began to whistle. He roughly pushed it off the burner and switched the knob to ‘off’ before grabbing her and covering her mouth with his. His tongue swept into her mouth as he pushed her backwards until she was against the opposite counter.

He didn’t break the kiss as he lifted her and placed her on the counter, gently pushing her thighs apart and stepping between them. She slid her arms over his shoulders, slipping her fingers into his hair as she returned his kiss as fiercely as he was giving it.

As his mouth moved to her neck, she tilted her head to give him better access.

“God, Giles…”

His lips nipped at her skin, his left hand moving between them to pull the button on her jeans free. He lowered the zipper part-way before sliding his hand underneath her blouse. She shivered at his touch and whispered his name.

He lifted his head and gazed into her eyes. “You…you need to know something…”

She traced his bottom lip with her thumb, her chest heaving with each deep breath she took. “What?”

He swallowed thickly, his fingers gently rubbing her side. “I…well, I…I rather think I’m in love with you.”

When her mouth dropped open in obvious surprise and she didn’t say anything, he lowered his gaze. “I’m sorry…I…too much too soon, wasn’t it?”

She smiled and ducked her head under his, capturing his lips in a warm and passionate kiss. She deepened the kiss briefly before pulling back and caressing the side of his face with her hand.

“Do you really want to know how long I’ve been in love with you, but been too scared to say anything?”

His eyes widened slightly. “Would you tell me if I said ‘yes’?”

She fingered the buttons on his shirt and sighed. “Nearly a year. I’ve wanted you longer than that. But…one day we were at the shop, researching. And I looked up and you were so engrossed in whatever text you were reading.”

He chuckled softly, his fingers gently moving against her skin again.

“You were frustrated, couldn’t find the demon. Anyway, you ran your fingers through your hair and stood up, started pacing back and forth. All because you couldn’t find the demon that was trying to make me his midnight snack.”

She leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on his lips. “That was the day I fell in love with you.”

Just as he opened his mouth to respond, the phone rang. He shook his head in annoyance and grabbed it.

“Hello?”

Willow rambled quickly about a demon that had just attacked a patron of the Espresso Pump…in broad daylight, no less. Buffy smiled in understanding as Giles flashed an apologetic glance before asking for more details.

She looked down and took a deep breath before gently taking his softened flesh into her hand. His eyes snapped to hers, successfully stifling his groan as she carefully tucked him back into his boxers and refastened his trousers.

He was off the phone quickly and relayed the details to Buffy as he pulled her from the countertop to stand in front of him. “I’m sorry…this wasn’t exactly my plan for the day.”

She grinned and shrugged a shoulder. “One of the downfalls of us being us. But…can we come back here later?”

He smiled warmly and bent his head to kiss her. “Will you stay the night with me?”

“Mm…I think something can be arranged.” She returned his gentle kiss and then nudged him towards the door. “Come on…let’s go find us a green, rubbery demon to kill.”

He chuckled in amusement and grabbed his keys, opening the door for her. She stopped just outside and looked up at him with an expectant look on her face.

“Yes?” He quirked an eyebrow at her.

“The spoon doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

He blushed heavily as she turned and quickly made her way to his car.

* * *

Buffy sighed heavily as she allowed the memories of that night fade away. Her hand was still raised, ready to knock on the door of his hotel room. Her smile resurfaced and she lightly knocked on the door.

After a few seconds, the door swung open to reveal a barefoot and shirtless Giles. She inhaled deeply, the distinctive odour of cannabis hanging in the air. He grinned, his pupils dilated, and stepped to the side.

This was the first time he had smoked since the night Willow nearly destroyed the world. She supposed that the implosion of the town they lived in was a good enough reason to partake in some relaxation techniques.

She moved past him, leaning up to give him a soft kiss as he closed the door.

“Relaxing?” She asked, amusement tinging her voice.

He chuckled and took the bucket of ice from her hand, dropping it on the table before nudging her towards the bed. “Yes, well…I thought I’d give it a go. How’s your side?”

“Nearly healed. Turbo healing rate on this one.” She shook her head and sat down on the mattress. “How’s the relaxation working out for you?”

He took her hand and pressed it against the hard bulge in his jeans. “Fairly well, I do believe.”

She grinned, the losses of the day forgotten for the moment. They could deal with the heavy stuff tomorrow.

Right now…she wanted to relax with Rupert Giles. And maybe later she’d ask if _this_ was now the preferred effect of his relaxation aid.

 

~ End


End file.
